Haematology (American spelling hematology) is a branch of medicine concerning the study of blood, the blood-forming organs, and blood diseases. The word “heme” comes from the Greek for blood (acknowledgement Dr Ananya Mandal)
Scope of haematology
Hematology is practised by specialists in the field who deal with the diagnosis, treatment and overall management of people with blood disorders ranging from anemia to blood cancer.
Some of the diseases treated by haematologists include:
- Iron deficiency anaemia and other types of anemia such as sickle cell anemia or trauma-related anemia
- Polycythemia or excess production of red blood cells
- Myelofibrosis
- Leukemia
- Platelet and bleeding disorders such as hemophilia, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and Von Willebrand disease
- The myelodysplastic syndromes
- Hemoglobinopathies such as thalassemia and sickle cell disease
- Multiple myeloma
- Malignant lymphomas
- Blood transfusion
- Bone marrow stem cell transplantation